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  • Kick-off: 12:45
  • Venue: Anfield
  • Attendance: 43965
  • Referee: Wiley, A

Live Commentary

90mins

Liverpool managed to hold on to secure their first Premiership win of the season after goals from Agger and Crouch cancelled out Zamora's opener to make it 2-1 to Rafa Benitez's side at the final whistle.

90mins

The game is now into injury time. Four minutes will be added on.

89mins

Liverpool survive a late scare but scramble a free-kick clear. Kuyt then breaks and has a shot deflected wide for a corner.

85mins

Gerrard bursts forward and his cross is begging for someone to get on the end of it but no Liverpool player has made the gamble.

82mins

Boudewijn Zenden replaces Pennant.

82mins

Teddy Sheringham replaces Reo-Coker.

81mins

Tyrone Mears has replaced Konchesky.

81mins

Bowyer misses a sitter from six yards out from a great cross by Paintsil.

80mins

Gonzalez tests Carroll from long distance but the keeper saves at the second attempt.

78mins

Carroll pulls off a stunning save from Kuyt who is looking bright. Liverpool then force a number of corners but the Hammers escape unscathed.

75mins

The onus is on the Hammers who need to equalise but it's hard to see where a second goal is going to come from for the visitors.

73mins

Carlton Cole replaces Harewood and he has the job of dragging West Ham back into the match.

70mins

Gabbidon pulls back Bellamy as he bursts through but the referee says no foul.

68mins

Bellamy has a goal ruled out for offside after a sublime pass from Kuyt. It's a tight decision but the linesman is probaby in the right.

66mins

Bowyer is furious because he thinks he should have won a free-kick but the decision rightly goes against him.

64mins

Aurelio picks up the first yellow card for fouling Harewood. The free-kick comes to nothing.

63mins

John Paintsil's bicycle kick flies straight into the Kop.

62mins

West Ham are getting on top but have to guard against the counter-attack because Liverpool have real pace in the side.

60mins

Mark Gonzalez has just replaced Garcia as Liverpool bring on fresh legs in a bid to close out the game.

58mins

Benayoun is causing problems down the right but Reina comes to his side's rescue by plucking a cross out of the air. Surely a Hammers substitution is on the cards soon?

57mins

Bowyer just fails to get on the end of a cross as West Ham look for an equaliser.

56mins

Benayoun flashes a shot wide after Liverpool fail to close him down in time.

54mins

Kuyt has headed wide of the target but he has made a good start and wants to get on the scoresheet. He then drifts offside with the goal at his mercy from Gerrard's pass. It's a tight decision as he appeared to be just on.

52mins

Dirk Kuyt comes on for his Liverpool debut with goalscorer Crouch the man to make way. Kuyt's first touch is a long-range shot that goes wide.

49mins

Liverpool have made the better start in the second half and another goal for the Reds would leave West Ham with a real mountain to climb.

46mins

Gerrard's long-range effort is just wide as Liverpool look to turn the screw.

46mins

West Ham kick off and will be kicking themselves for letting their one-goal lead slip. Boss Alan Pardew will be far from a happy man at the moment.

45mins

AGGER and CROUCH have given Liverpool a 2-1 lead at Anfield after ZAMORA broke the deadlock early on.

45mins

CROUCH has given Liverpool the lead for the first time after being played in beautifully by Garcia. It's now 2-1.

42mins

DANIEL AGGER has pulled Liverpool level with a stunning 25-yard shot as the Reds grab a deserved equaliser. It's 1-1 at Anfield.

41mins

Harewood's goal is ruled out for a foul on Aurelio.

40mins

Harewood's mishit cross wastes West Ham's latest attack with Zamora looking interested in the box. However, the goalscorer may have aggravated an injury with that forward run.

39mins

Daniel Gabbidon has to be alert to cut out a cross but Liverpool deserve to be level with West Ham happy to try and soak up the pressure for the time being.

35mins

Reina has to come well off his line to clear the danger as West Ham launch a rare attack.

34mins

Alonso has become the latest Liverpool player to try his luck from distance but Carroll saves again.

33mins

Garcia fires straight at Carroll after good work down the right from Pennant. Surely a Liverpool equaliser is coming?

31mins

Bellamy's cross is just too high for Crouch and Pennant but Liverpool are starting to pile the pressure on.

28mins

Aurelio has just blasted a cross-shot in from distance but no Liverpool player can get on the end of it and the ball flies wide of Roy Carroll's goal.

28mins

The atmosphere at Anfield is strangely subdued as the crowd try to deal with West Ham's shock opener.

26mins

Garcia brings the ball down well on his chest but cannot stop the ball rolling out for a goal kick as the Reds press for an equaliser.

24mins

Garcia's pullback to Crouch is inaccurate and Liverpool give possession away cheaply on the edge of the West Ham box.

18mins

Fabio Aurelio shoots over the bar and into the crowd in the Kop when he needed a bit more quality on his effort.

17mins

Bowyer whips in a free-kick but it comes to nothing but the Hammers are giving Liverpool a real game now.

14mins

Marlon Harewood is played in by Benayoun but his shot is wide of the target as West Ham look for a secong goal.

12mins

BOBBY ZAMORA breaks the deadlock after beating Pepe Reina at his near post from 20 yards to give West Ham the lead against the run of play. The Hammers are 1-0 up.

9mins

Fabio Aurelio sees a free-kick cleared off the line by Paul Konchesky as the England defender keeps his side in it for the time being.

7mins

Luis Garcia blasts wide off the side of his boot after being played in as the Spaniard looks to break the deadlock.

5mins

West Ham squander a free-kick with Benayoun and Lee Bowyer making a hash of the set piece between them.

5mins

Gerrard has had the first shot in anger but he cannot get it on target after a thorugh ball from Luis Garcia.

5mins

Neither side has managed to get on top and the game needs to settle down at the moment. A few fould have been committed by both sides.

1mins

Liverpool kick off and will attack the Kop End at Anfield.

0mins

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard returns to the starting line-up after shaking off a stomach problem and he replaces the injured Momo Sissoko. Craig Bellamy is recalled to partner Peter Crouch up front so Luis Garcia drops back to midfield. West Ham

Match Report

Liverpool paid homage to the legendary Kop supporters with a display which showed the best and worst of Rafa Benitez's side.

Laboured at times, the Spion Kop's hundredth birthday saw a victory which did not match the excitement of last season's FA Cup Final, but was just as important in the never-ending Premiership marathon.

West Ham showed they have enough quality to challenge for top half finished with a disciplined performance.

Proceedings started brightly with Liverpool playing towards the Kop end in buoyant mood after their lacklustre midweek performance.

Steven Gerrard scuffed a shot from distance wide of Roy Carroll's goal in only the fourth minute with the Reds fans incensed moments later when referee Wiley correctly waved away claims Peter Crouch's shirt had been tugged.

New full-back Fabio Aurelio showed off his cultured left foot after sending a free-kick spinning over the wall, but Paul Konchesky was alert enough to head off the line.

But it was West Ham that looked to have gatecrashed the Kop's centenary after Bobby Zamora, making his 50th league start, managed to beat Jose Reina at his near post with what looked suspiciously like a cross.

A neat turn by captain Nigel Reo-Coker released Zamora into the right channel with Reina only able to palm the mishit centre into the net on 12 minutes

Liverpool looked in disarray, Marlon Harewood was adjudged offside a minute later when put clean through by Yossi Benayoun.

The home side attempted to take the game back to the Hammers, displaying Benitez's customary style of quick feet and incisive passing to bring the ball out of defence.

However, in the final third attacking options petered out, save for a few crosses from Fabio Aurelio as West Ham defended in numbers.

The Hammers looked sharp on the counter-attack, Zamora was clear through after quick interplay but Reina rushed out to make a confidence-boosting clearance.

It fell to Liverpool's defence to provide the breakthrough as midfield struggled to create chances.

Supplied by Xabi Alonso, central-half Daniel Agger saw an empty midfield and drove through, unleashed a left-foot shot from 30yards which had pace and curl.

Carroll did not even respond as the outside of the boot strike ended up in the top left corner.

The Kop was then brought into full voice in the 45th minute as the Reds took the lead.

Luis Garcia, switching to the right flank, displayed his customary neat footwork to skip past two defenders on the edge of the area and put a sliderule ball through to Crouch.

The England frontman made no mistake as he dodged Carroll's advancing form and slotted the ball home between two defenders.

In the second half, Benitez threw on the latest solution to Liverpool's strikeforce problem in the form of new signing Dirk Kuyt.

He instantly entered the fray, first sending a low shot just wide of the post, then rising powerfully to meet a Luis Garcia cross.

Bellamy looked to have put the game beyond the visitors after he slotted the ball over a prone Carroll in the 67th minute, but he was harshly judged offside from Kuyt's deft flick.

The home side could not kill the game off, and were lucky not to be punished for it, Lee Bowyer managed to hit the post.

The ball arrived at the former Newcastle midfielder's feet at the edge of the six-yard box from John Paintsil's cross, but his stab bobbled and hit the outside of the woodwork.

Liverpool

West Ham United

Corners

61

Fouls

156

Goal attempts

198

Shots off target

115

Offsides

54

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